QB Christian Ponder threw for 266 yards to lead the Gold team to a victory against the Garnet team.

April 10, 2010|By Andrew Carter, Orlando Sentinel

TALLAHASSEE — There were more dropped passes than Jimbo Fisher wanted to see — more penalties amid sloppy execution — but after watching his first Garnet and Gold game as Florida State's head coach, Fisher on Saturday didn't sound like the man who'd angrily scolded his team earlier in the week.

In all, Fisher was content with the Gold's 29-17 victory — happy with how quarterback Christian Ponder performed, happy how the defensive pass rush improved. Happy, perhaps most of all, that people filled Doak Campbell Stadium like they never had before for a Seminoles' spring game.

The announced crowd was 51,300, and even if the officials exaggerated that by a bit, the crowd was on par with the one that gathered here last November to watch FSU's final regular season game, against Maryland. That kind of attendance was bad news then, but good news on Saturday — a sign that fans believe at the start of the Fisher era.

Fisher noticed, of course. He paid attention to those in the stands, and took note of those in the luxury suites.

"It was great," Fisher said. "I think it was great not only for the players to see the support and everybody wanting to watch them play but I think it was good for the fans, too, as far as letting them see some of the old-time guys."

The "old-time" guys, as Fisher called them, were those like former FSU stars Peter Warrick and Brad Johnson, Casey Weldon and Darnell Dockett. At halftime, they played in an alumni flag football game that provided plenty of highlights.

There were a good amount of those during the spring game, too. Ponder, playing in the closest thing he has to a game since suffering a season-ending shoulder injury last November, played like he'd never been hurt. He completed 16-of-34 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a score.

Not bad for a guy who Fisher said was only 75 percent recovered from his injury.

"As I started doing more and more, I started gaining confidence in my arm and didn't really hold myself back at all," Ponder said.

The Garnet and Gold game also served as a showcase for FSU's new defensive scheme, which new coordinator Mark Stoops spent the past three-and-a-half weeks implementing. The Seminoles still run a base 4-3, just like they did during the Mickey Andrews era, but now they play more zone instead of man-to-man.

Both defenses, which combined for 11 "sacks" – a sack occurring when a defensive player merely touched the quarterback – offered various coverages and blitzes. And though they allowed more long plays than Fisher wanted to see, Fisher commended the defenses for improving in the second half.

"I feel like for once our confidence came up a lot," said safety Terrance Parks, who played for the Gold. "… I feel like we made a lot of great improvements, man, and just playing with our eyes, using our athleticism and just playing. Playing together. We feel like we're really playing together as a defense."

That was often missing last season. So, too, of course was a sense of enthusiasm and excitement.

For at least an afternoon, those feelings returned. There was a sense of optimism about the beginning of a new era. And now the work will continue.

"We've got a lot of work [to do]," Fisher said. "We're nowhere close to where we need to be."